Interview with Hannu Huhtamo
Hannu Huhtamo is a visual artist, musician and photographer from Helsinki, Finland.
Starting in 2008, Hannu has established a very beautiful and distinctive style in the world of light painting photography. The photographs he produces are fresh, exquisite and come straight of the camera with only minimal RAW-processing done to the images.
This interview will include some of Hannu’s images, talk about gear that he likes to use, tips and some friendly advice on light painting photography itself.
Also check out more of Hannu’s work in the links below:
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/hhuhtamo/
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/HannuHuhtamoPhotography
Website: www.hannuhuhtamo.com
1. What interests you most about working in Photography? Why do you take photos?
It’s probably the challenge to get a good story captured in a one single frame. All you got is the moment, decisive moment like Cartier-Bresson once said. In long exposure photography things are a bit different though, but you still have to think about the composition, light & shadow and how much you want time to be included in the picture. To me it is also fascinating to seek hidden beauty from unexpected places and try to convey it to the people.
2. How did you get involved with the type of photography you are doing now?
Well, it all started in 2008 when a fellow light painter and good friend of mine Janne Parviainen aka Jannepaint showed some of his experiments with LED-lights and long exposure time. I was blown away immediately and I started to save money for my first dslr. I did my own experiments almost every night and it quickly developed into an obsessive hobby. Today it’s a way of life and also a source of income
3. In regards to equipment; what type of gear do you find fits best with your work?
I try to keep things as simple as possible. But sometimes the shooting place or the weather conditions can be really difficult and challenging to your gear. My favourite combination for light painting sessions is Canon 5Dmk III and their 17-40L lens.
When doing light art you have to have good quality light tools also. I’m an official ambassador of Led Lenser products and their high quality LED-torches are the best you can find in the market. There’s no better equipment to light up objects like trees and hills or big buildings where you must have high power light sources with optical focusing of the light beam.
Along with this professional gear I still use cheaper stuff like keychain LED-lights, battery operated decorative lights, kids light toys… almost anything that emits light will do. One of my all-time favourites is electroluminescent wire aka el-wire. It can bend into different shapes easily and gives you a nice smooth, smoky kind of an effect. Some of my tools are self-made. I might use recycled plastic bags and bottles as a colour filters, it’s even better if there’s holes and wrinkles all over them. Light trails come much more livelier with complex textures.
4. Do you find there is any limitation with using the type of gear you described above?
No. Only limit is your own skills and imagination. I mean, incredible things can be done with just a one flashlight if you know how to use it properly. Same thing goes with today’s camera gear also. Not the technology itself produces good images, the person behind the lens does.
5. What inspires you to capture light painting images?
There's something magical in glowing lights in middle of the darkness and how the light itself reacts with the surroundings. It gives you alternative and unique way to create breathtaking visual effects without post processing. Although it’s digital, there’s something organic and humane in it, because the trails and shapes are done by the artist himself, not the computer. And what makes it even more challenging is that you can’t see what you have drawn. There are no traces of lines behind your brush sweeps, only your own memory of where your hand was or might have been seconds or minutes ago. Very few forms of art gives you the possibility to draw in a three dimensional space.
6. Do you find a lot of mishaps happen to your gear, when working (especially in the dark)?
Sometimes yes, mainly I might drop light tools or put those on the ground for a second and forgetting the place after the shot is done. When shooting in abandoned buildings and creepy locations you’re always exposed to danger. Light painting has lot of common with urban exploration and its hazards.
7. What does your post process workflow look like?
All my light painting photos are straight from the camera, there’s no Photoshoping or manipulation done. Of course I do some RAW processing before printing images, but nothing else. It’s all there on my every pic’s EXIF info.
8. What elements of the work bring you the most stress? And perhaps what encourages you?
To invent something new, always.
Trying to avoid repeating myself and pushing my art to the new levels. Sometimes it just might happen by itself, but usually not. Another thing is to make living out of it. Of course as a photographer you can get many kinds of assignments, portraits, weddings, product shots and journalistic works, but at the moment I just want to focus only on light painting and get the money from other jobs. Light painting is still very marginal form of art and it needs to be made more known in commercial sector.
9. When you go out for a shoot do you bring along a team to help assist you?
Usually I work by myself, but some shooting trips require helping hands. Mainly just to watch my back so that I don’t get hurt or won’t get robbed.
10. Do you have a dream assignment?
Yes, I’d travel around the world with my own tech crew doing light painting in various amazing locations and get paid of it. Or maybe just spend a week in some abandoned city or village with same specs.
11. If I ask you to give me some advice, what would it be?
Put your main focus on content and try to have something to say, a statement. Good technic skills are bonus, but it’s not nearly as important as the content. Be original. Be you and try to put a piece of yourself in everything you do. Follow your instinct, contest rules and regulations, but remember to be empathic. Keep your antennas up all the time. Killer ideas come usually on unexpected sources.
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